Leica CityMapper-2

High-performance urban mapping sensor Leica CityMapper-2

The need for accurate aerial data in metropolitan areas goes beyond traditional data products, as rapidly changing urban environments require more frequent and therefore more efficient updates of geospatial base layers.

The Leica CityMapper-2 is specifically designed for aerial urban mapping and offers twice the performance in data acquisition to meet the urgent demand for 3D data. The world’s only hybrid aerial sensor combining oblique imagery and LiDAR captures two nadir images (RGB/NIR) and four oblique images of 150 MP each every 0.9 seconds, providing the highest resolution to visualise every corner of the city. With a new generation of 2 MHz pulse rate LiDAR, this sensor breaks all conventional barriers in urban mapping.

The new Leica MFC150 optical system is equipped with Leica Geosystems’ unique Forward Motion Compensation (FMC), enabling high-quality image capture even in challenging lighting conditions without reducing efficiency, unlike traditional camera systems that must reduce shutter speed and aircraft speed to control motion blur.

Optical system

• Two 150 MP nadir cameras (RGB and NIR)
• Four 150 MP oblique cameras at 45° (RGB)
• Backside-illuminated CMOS sensor (BSI)
• Forward Motion Compensation (FMC)
• Custom low-distortion lenses
• Three focal lengths to choose from for low, standard and high altitude operation

LiDAR sensor

• 2 MHz pulse repetition frequency
• Multiple Pulses in Air (MPiA) without gating
• 3 cm range accuracy
• Oblique scan pattern
• Uniform point distribution in the dataset
• USGS LiDAR Quality Level 0 data up to 2 km altitude

The CityMapper-2 is the most fully equipped aerial solution on the market for highly productive creation of 3D city digital twins. The sensor transforms the way we digitise the world we live in and enables the creation of the most detailed geospatial base layer, including orthophotos, point clouds, 3D building models and meshes, all from a single flight.

Performance boost

Allowing users to collect data at higher altitudes and flight speeds while still delivering the same GSD and positional accuracy, this system provides unmatched efficiency for urban mapping applications. As part of Leica RealCity, CityMapper-2 is designed to create city digital twins in the shortest time and with the lowest operational cost.

Exceptional accuracy

The new Leica MFC150 cameras with custom low-distortion lenses can deliver pixel sizes as small as 2 cm at high flight speeds thanks to Forward Motion Compensation (FMC). The 2 MHz linear mode LiDAR sensor offers 3 cm range accuracy and is optimised for data acquisition in urban environments.

Operational flexibility

The system is available in three configurations for low, standard and high altitude flights, to meet customer requirements and adapt to local weather and flight regulations. The CityMapper-2 is a compact package with integrated system controller and storage, making it easy to install on any survey aircraft.

Maximum data performance

The high-performance workflow of Leica HxMap has been updated to meet the data processing demands of the CityMapper-2. Edge computing generates fully calibrated high-quality image data for fast quality control and emergency response applications. On the LiDAR side, discrete returns are extracted from full waveform data to achieve the fastest processing speeds.